Isobel
by Isabel Night
Summary: Cale, Dais, and Sekhmet want Anubis back. And they're going to get him, even if they have to do it the hard way...


**Disclaimer**-I will never own any of the characters in this story. Everyone belongs to his or her respective owners, producers, voice actors, etc.

_Isobel  
Isabel Night_

  
Darkness filtered through the air as three fully armored males tried to ease their bulky bodies into a cross-legged position on the floor. These men, who had come together inside a medium-sized storage room, felt secure in the knowledge that no one would overhear them plotting. After all, other hallways were more important in the running of day-to-day activities inside the City of Desire, the capital city of the Nether Realm. The hub of the municipality's activities, Talpa's citadel, included many servants, administrators, and four humans known as the Dark Warlords of the Dynasty. Given that it was a great honor to live within the castle walls, only those same four humans and their demon master could ever truly call such a place home.

Nevertheless, everyone in the palace, especially a white haired male with one good blue eye, knew that this chamber was not in use. His two comrades, a blue haired man with an inverted cross-shaped scar that had been carved over his left eye via his former master's knife blade, sat next to the final member of the group, a green haired male with heavy purple eyelids, an appearance resulting from his half-serpent demon heritage. The sliding paper walls did not have any large boxes stacked next to them and the lack of furniture resting on top of the six large floor mats gave the men a fair amount of sitting room. Furthermore, the meeting area smelled of must and mildew, a mingling scent that permeated through the black air, giving off a pungent, yet comforting, aroma.

Still, the place where they had assembled pleased them, especially the blue haired Cale, Dark Warlord of Corruption. In this position, he could fantasize about his four hundred fifty-six year old heart drowning inside the black void known as nothingness. However, the lure to act on such a desire was hard to withstand. If he did jump into the pit referred to as oblivion, then he would not feel the betrayal of Anubis, former Dark Warlord of Cruelty, who had left the Nether Realm and discarded his brethren for the lies of the monk known as The Ancient One. Then again, nothingness would hinder him from taking revenge against the humiliation and embarrassment he had suffered at the hands of a spoiled twelve-year-old girl, Lady Kayura. That little bitch had Master Talpa's favoritism and though it was fun to contemplate slitting her throat, such an act was impossible to carry out within the castle walls.

In any case, it would be Cale, the second oldest warlord, who would learn that people's thoughts and actions gave off a certain edge. This invisible aura, if one could describe it as such, was something that even ordinary mortals could sense. After all, as any fool could tell you, how you presented yourself could be as clear, or rusty, as a double-edged sword. One side of the blade could make you appear strong and invulnerable, while the other side could expose you as a pathetic weakling. Of course, he had only learned about this theory while eavesdropping on Anubis reading aloud from several scrolls in the castle library. Overhearing things was nothing new in the Dynasty, especially since the red-haired youth was just an initiate, a recent addition to Talpa's grand army.

It would be one month later, after Anubis had publicly taken his vows of loyalty and obedience that the red sky child began to go out of his way to speak to his fellow warlords. Naturally, Cale was suspicious. It would be four days after his dedication, that Anubis finally caught him in the library. Reluctantly, the two of them began talking, and while most of what they spoke about was either meaningless nonsense or other trivial things that faded with time, both of their pasts soon became part of the conversation. Anubis spoke fondly of his small village outside of Kyoto, where, when he was younger, had had great dreams of becoming an undefeated samurai, and the unifier of all Japan. Some time later, Cale too began to reveal his checkered past. The conversation would sometimes drift from how he had received his scar, to how Talpa saved from execution, to how his heart had become nothing more than a cauldron of hatred, boiling over at the mere mention of his former master. Two days later, Anubis would again meet up with Cale and this time, he encouraged his fellow warlord to seek revenge against his old lord and retainers.

Two weeks after that meeting, Cale's enemies became food for his wolves. As his sword drank in the blood of those who had left him to die, the tan-skinned man who appeared to be only twenty years old experienced an incredible rush of power that would take on a blackened air, and forever denote him as a hunter of humans. If what he had discovered was true, then perhaps power was part of the emotional impression. If that was so, then couldn't power eventually turn into bloodlust? If that were also true, then would bloodlust become the standard that would unite the four Dark Warlords?

Through bloodshed, the passage of time, and a few cherished memories, the bond between the four men whom Talpa had bestowed upon the title of Dark Warlord, soon became a force that no one dared to oppose. Now it appeared that five children, the so-called Ronin Warriors, and their guardian, a spirit-monk only known as The Ancient One, had dared to challenge them by taking Anubis away. To make a long story short, the five of them had kidnapped their ogre; taken one of their own so that not only would they have an advantage on the battlefield, but also unleash a cruel plan of psychological trickery over the remaining Dark Warlords and their master. Despite being kidnapped, brainwashed, and manipulated, Anubis somehow managed to return to his brothers. Cale didn't know if this came from the redhead's unbreakable dedication, or sheer stupidity, but as long as he had his master's permission, Cale would hunt the red-haired youth down and bring him back to the castle. As an added bonus, there was no monk to interfere and, except for his master, no one could stop him.

"Anubis is close to the castle," Cale spoke, breaking the silence in the room. "I can sense his presence even inside this empty room. What a shame that the monk is incapable of protecting him. I suppose he will have to accept the inevitable."

"I agree," the green-haired man, Sekhmet, nodded, partially revealing his fang-like canines. "Anubis has done us a huge favor by reappearing in the Nether Realm. Those Ronin rodents won't be able to stand against us, particularly when they find their new mentor missing."

"You both seem quite confident that he won't put up a fight." The one-eyed man, Dais, murmured. "Perhaps you don't believe he's still formidable without his armor or technique."

"Please, don't get me started on that 'maybe he's having a hard time dealing with what he's done' crap," Cale growled. "You had the chance to bring him back to us, but you let your emotions get the better of you. Even if you were angry at him, you should've had a clear enough head to render him unconscious and bring him back from the path that leads to treason."

"May I remind you," Dais snarled, taking offence to Cale's previous words, "that Anubis believes those lies, and he is willing to die for them. I could see that he was brainwashed by that monk, but do you honestly think I—"

"Enough!" Sekhmet interrupted. "Placing the blame on who should have done what is getting us nowhere. The main point is that Anubis is here with the five Ronin Warriors, guiding and protecting them. He is too busy with them that he cannot take care of himself. He will be easy to take as long as he is alone."

"Are you suggesting a kidnap and kill mission, Sekhmet?" Cale asked, his blue-green eyes slightly brightening.

"Yes. I am sure that Master Talpa would consider him an acceptable prize. After all, I know I have something that will keep him immobile as we bring him back to our side."

"That is all well and good," Dais huffed, "but we might have to restrain him. There's a good chance he might attempt to commit suicide if he gets captured."

"Then we would have to restrain him before we drug him," Sekhmet volunteered. "Dais could create an illusion so that he won't have the ability to take his life. However, he would still need to be drugged."

"Do you have an idea on what to use?" Cale inquired.

"Yes." Sekhmet confirmed, producing an expensive Venetian glass bottle. "This elixir is a special blend of sweet vitriol and apple water. If I can get close enough to Anubis' nose and mouth, wet a handkerchief with the drug, and force him to inhale the fumes, then the concoction should render him insensible. I can't promise that he won't become addicted to the medicine, but I'm positive that this will prevent him from running away."

"Then it's settled," Cale finished, slowly getting up from his sitting position. "We can ask Master Talpa if Anubis can be our spoil of war. I'll restrain him, Sekhmet will drug him, and Dais will bring him back to our side. It's a perfect plan; nothing can possibly go wrong."

"Let us hope so," Dais sighed as he shook his head. "I just heard a summons. We are to report to the throne room immediately."

Without a word, Sekhmet and Dais rose from their seated positions, joined Cale as they teleported out of the storeroom, and made their way towards the main hall.

_THE END_

  
**End Notes**-Sweet vitriol, also known as ether was discovered in 1275 by a Spanish chemist named Raymundus Lullius. With the potential to become addictive, just as chloroform, ether was originally used as treatment for phthisis, catarrhal fever, bladder calculus, scurvy, and pulmonary inflammation. The first surgical anesthetic use of ether is credited to Dr. Crawford Williamson Long, MD, age 27, of Jefferson, Georgia. On March 30, 1842, he removed one of the two tumors from the neck of Mr. James Venable under ether anesthesia. If you would like to learn more about ether, or want the URL of the website I got information from, by all means PM me. Many thanks go out to my Beta Readers. 


End file.
